Summary: A Southern River terrapin (Batagur affinis), which is one of the most endangered turtles in the world was released on Monday, January 16th in the Sre Ambel River in Cambodia. The turtle is a female, and weighs around 75 pounds. She was given a satellite transmitter so that conservationists could track her movements. This is the first satellite monitoring study for this species. It is estimated that there are 200 adult South River terrapins in the wilds of Cambodia, Malaysia, and Indonesia. This turtle used to be property of the King of Cambodia, but the population has decreased in the past twenty years. This is because when the Khmer Rouge and Pol Pot regime ended, the Cambodian people were left impoverished, so the turtles were taken to China due to the growing demand for turtles for human consumption.
Critique: I think it's neat how they put a satellite on her to see her movements. I can understand why the number of these turtles is dwindling and I hope that they will be able to regroup and not become extinct.
Impact: Hopefully awareness for these turtles will be raised and they won't go extinct.
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